Abuse allegations, arrests mount at state mental hospital

Sunday, 17 September 2017 (1 week ago)HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — At Connecticut's only maximum-security psychiatric hospital, staff members put a diaper on a patient's head, threw food at him, poured water over him, put salt in his coffee, kicked him and placed a mop on his head after cleaning a floor, according to a state report. Thirty-one staff members at the Whiting Forensic Division hospital in Middletown have been suspended, and nine have been arrested. More arrests are expected, police say, and calls are pouring in with more allegations of misconduct and abuse, according to a state lawmaker who is calling for legislative hearings. Current and former staff members, as well as patients' relatives, are alleging abuse of other patients and staff wrongdoing, she said.